Batting

Saturday was a day of contrasts for the Lady Royals. Their bats were hot in an opening shutout of visiting Emory & Henry before the tables turned in the nightcap and Eastern Mennonite had to settle for a split.

EMU 6, Emory & Henry 0Game one was scoreless until the third, when Lisa Lee (Buckingham, VA/Buckingham County) led off by reaching second on a dropped fly ball. Brooke Hensley (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) laid down a bunt single and both ended up scoring unearned runs to give EMU the first lead.

The Lady Royals loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth, but a short fly ball followed by a grounder fielder's choice made two quick outs. Megan Viafora (Stanley, VA/Page County) then hit an RBI single and Jordan Aylor (Madison, VA/Madison County) added a two-run double off the center field fence to the push the lead to 5-0.

Eastern Mennonite added one more run in the sixth and Lee pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to seal the 6-0 shutout.

The women had 12 hits in a balanced attack, as every starter had at least one hit or one RBI. Courtney Allman (Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance) was 1-2 with a walk. She had two RBIs and a run scored. Sara Jenkins (Stanley, VA/Page County) was 2-3 with a run and an RBI.

Hensley finished 3-4 with a run, while Molly Smith (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) added a pair of hits. Aylor was 1-2 with a walk and two RBIs.

Lee was in fine form in the circle, throwing a three-hit shutout. She also struck out five.

Emory & Henry 3, EMU 2The bats struggled in game two, as the Wasps out-hit EMU 5-3 and snuck out with the split.

Despite facing EHC's best pitcher in game two, Eastern Mennonite got things rolling in the second when Allman and Rachel Breeden (Shenandoah, VA/Page County) both scored on Viafora's double, the first hit of the game.

The Wasps got a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the fourth to tie things up. The visitors took their first lead of the day in the fifth with an unearned run which scored on a wild pitch.

The Lady Royals struggled to solve Emory & Henry's Brandy Bryant, getting only a pair of bunt singles in the fifth and a two-out single in the sixth. The women went down in order in their final at-bat, suffering the one-run loss.

Bryant struck out 13 EMU women in game, giving up just four hits and one walk. Viafora finished 2-3 with both RBIs. Lee and Allman each had singles. Breeden had the walk.

Aylor pitched for Eastern Mennonite and was charged with the loss. Two of her three runs were earned as she allowed five hits.

The Lady Royals settle at 23-9 after the doubleheader including 7-7 in the ODAC. EMU has a pair of conference twinbills scheduled for next weekend against the ODAC's top two teams. Saturday at 1:00pm the women host last year's champion, Virginia Wesleyan. On Sunday they close their regular season with Randolph-Macon.